Boaz beats Sardis, clinches playoff spot

Saturday

BOAZ — Boaz clinched its first playoff berth since 2014 with a 42-14 victory over Sardis on Friday night in Class 5A, Region 6 play.

The Pirates (7-1, 4-0) used their running game to pound the ball at Sardis all night long. Boaz attempted just one pass the entire game.

Pirates running back Christian Collins rushed for five touchdowns in helping lead Boaz with 371 yards rushing on the night. Collins accounted for 200 of those yards on 38 rushes. Collins' touchdown runs were from 4, 7, 5, 7 and 2 yards out.

Briley Ramey also broke the century mark for the Pirates. He finished the night with 118 yards on 15 carries and a 3-yard scoring rush.

Following Collins' first scoring run, Sardis answered with a 15-yard scoring strike from Van Owens to Jacob Hopper.

Boaz and Collins returned the favor on their next possession to take a 14-7 lead before setting for a 21-7 advantage at the half. Sardis had scoring drive opportunities but were stymied by Boaz's defense. The Pirates stopped the Lions short on a fourth-and-2 play at the Boaz 39-yard line and then Cole Bowling came up with one of two interceptions of the night in the first half. He picked off an Owens pass at the Pirate 10-yard line.

Boaz extended its lead in the third with back-to-back Collins scoring runs before Sardis scored its final points of the night. Drew Vaughn capped the Lions' scoring drive with a 5-yard run with seven seconds left in the third quarter. Vaughn finished the night with 78 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Collins tacked on his fifth score with 4:27 left.

Boaz returns to action next week to host Southside, while Sardis (2-5, 0-4) travels to Crossville.

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